


Mittens [Attack on Titan/ SEEUS AU]

by Rich_Ramblings



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-21
Updated: 2016-12-21
Packaged: 2018-09-10 21:55:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8940958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rich_Ramblings/pseuds/Rich_Ramblings
Summary: Come to Eastern, walk with SEEUS.Simple words can start interesting things.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Come to Eastern, walk with SEEUS.

"Good evening!" Marco chirped to the passerby, pushing himself off of the railing he'd been leaning on and taking a few steps forward to smile and wave at the student, "Do you mind if SEEUS walks with you?" In return he got a glance that was half surprise, half apprehension and a small shake of the head. "Well then you have a good night!" Marco replied, then sighed as the student walked off. "That's the fourth one in a row, Eren. We're not going to make quota." He shuffled back to where his coworker leaned against the railing of the Student Center stairs, shoulders hunched forward against the cold.  
"I don't care," the young man grumbled, glaring at Marco from underneath the edge of his stocking cap, "It's too cold for this. I think I'm gonna quit." Marco's eyebrows shot up at the statement and he hastily waved his hands.  
"Y-you can't do that! Who would I have to work with? Mikasa? She seems a little...Er...Intense. And what about the supervisors? I feel like Levi and Erwin wouldn't be so happy about that." The freckled man looked down at his toes, shifting his weight back and forth between his feet to stay warm. "And I mean...They can be scary."  
Heaving another sigh, he clasped his hands together and looked up at the night sky. It was approaching eleven and the temperature was approaching freezing, but he liked it. His nights of working campus security had grown on him and he was starting to love the crisp smell of the night air and the view of the lights shining off of the University Park pond. Usually beginning around eleven thirty the number of students out and about on campus dwindled, and he was left alone with whoever he was working with. It had a way of making him feel like they were the only two people on Earth. Not great for trying to meet the quota of three escorts an hour but peaceful nonetheless.  
"Hey Eren?" Marco said quietly, glancing over at him and breathing on his freezing fingers. "Where do you think the geese sleep at night?" He was, of course, referencing the hordes of Canada geese that roamed the Eastern campus during the day, harassing students and pooping wherever they desired.  
Eren squinted at Marco and opened his mouth to respond when radio traffic cut him off.  
"SEEUS to five oh four." Marco recognized the cheery voice of Armin, who was permanently assigned to dispatch after an unfortunate incident with Ypsi the Klown and the University Park Stairs. Marco gestured animatedly at the device clipped to Eren's belt. He himself hated talking on the radio, he was much better at approaching people anyhow, so Eren had control of the radio for the entirety of the shift.  
"Go ahead." Eren said into the radio after waiting the second or two for the static to clear.  
"Please be advised; you have a ten fifteen from Sherzer to Cornell. The student's name is Connie and there is one in the party."  
"Fucking Connie." Eren grumbled, rolling his eyes and replying into the radio, "Ten four." After waiting for the time stamp, the two university students headed off to the other side of campus. "What do you want to bet Connie isn't even there?" Eren said to Marco, glancing over at him. It was true, Connie was in the habit of calling in for an escort and then getting impatient and running off by himself.  
"He's at least trying to help us..." Marco said defensively, "He knows it's hard to make quota on Friday nights."  
"Yeah, but it'd be more helpful if he actually, you know, was there when we came to get him." Eren scowled and shook his head.  
Not knowing what to say, Marco followed behind him quietly, wondering what Connie was doing at Sherzer. It was the primary art building on campus and, despite not knowing Connie very well, he had a hunch the buzz cut sporting, high energy first year had little or nothing to do with the arts. It was a hobby of Marco's to try and guess what people's majors were just by talking to them, but Connie seemed like the type who had worn a 'My favorite class is lunch' tshirt in high school.  
After a long, chilly walk after which Marco couldn’t feel his fingers at all, the orange bricked building with its iconic white dome came into view and, lo and behold, no Connie was to be found. Marco was less concerned about that and more concerned about the fact that he really should have worn mittens for shift.  
"I fucking swear I will throttle that son of a bitch." Eren shouted, grabbing the radio from his belt so quickly he almost tore the fabric and, for a split second, Marco was afraid he'd get another unfortunate flash of Eren's boxers. It had been a rough shift. "Five oh four to SEEUS." Eren ground out, just about spitting into the radio.  
"Go ahead." Came the clearly concerned voice of Armin. Marco made a mental note to apologize to him and possibly bake him several dozen cookies as thanks for putting up with Eren's hot headedness.  
"We are ten twenty three...Without. To no one's surprise." The last was said after the line had dropped and Eren cast a glance that screamed 'I won't say I told you so but I told you so' at his partner. Marco was doing his best to smile and try to make it better.  
"We'll be here for ten minutes, maybe he'll show up? Yeah he...He probably just lost track of time inside." Ever the optimist, Marco nodded and set off at a brisk pace to the front of Sherzer to wait, rubbing his hands together to warm them up.  
"He's not going to show up, he's not going to show up, he's not going to show up..." Eren chanted under his voice, shoving his hands deep into his pockets and following after.  
The lighting around Sherzer was sketchy to say the best; Marco was pretty sure the orangish red lights hadn't been changed since the most recent burning of Sherzer back in 1989. It gave the entire old side of campus a spooky feeling, and Marco glanced over his shoulder toward where he knew the abandoned dorms were. He couldn't see them but he knew they were there and he knew they were scary.  
Coming around to the front of the old building, Marco walked over to take a look into the darkened archway. No Connie. However...The figure sitting in the dark recess almost gave him a heart attack. The student looked about his age, still had that look of a freshman before the inevitably of student loans became overwhelming, and was staring at him over the top of an oversized sketchbook. Why he'd been sitting in the dark Marco couldn't fathom.  
"Uh...Hi." He stammered, finding himself unable to look away from the young man's piercing gaze. The shadows cast from the old street lights made his long, gaunt face look even more so.  
"You're in the way." Came the boy's curt response as his eyes flicked back down to what Marco assumed was a drawing. Marco continued looking at him, dumbfounded, until his voice surprised him again. "You stupid or something? I said move."  
"Oh! Sorry." Marco side stepped further under the archway, orienting himself so he could discreetly see the sketchbook. Or, at least, he'd thought he was being discreet. The suspicious upward glance he received made him think perhaps he wasn't as stealthy as he wanted to believe. After taking a glance around to confirm that Connie had still not arrived and that Eren was still taking his frustration out on a bench, he leaned down to take a closer look. It was a breathtakingly realistic sketch of the view from under the arch. He understood now why he'd had to move.  
"This is...Wow this is..."  
"'Genius'? 'Freaky'? 'Too good to actually be your work, stop tracing photographs'?" The boy offered in a flat voice, not looking up. His hand didn’t stop sketching for a second, and Marco wondered how he could still feel his fingers in the cold air. Looked like Eren was the only one out of the three of them to have the forethought to wear gloves in the bitter cold. Or maybe it was an artistic sacrifice.  
“I was going to say beautiful,” The freckled student said quietly, “And...Kind of lonely, too.” At that the pencil lay still against the paper and the student looked up at him, squinting. After another moment, he returned his attention to his work. Marco was afraid he’d leave it at that and they'd be stuck waiting in awkward silence until Connie showed up or ten minutes had passed but the boy sniffled and cleared his throat, sounding nonchalant when he spoke.  
“So do you guys...Get paid for what you’re doing?” Marco’s eyes lit up at the prospect of getting to talk about what, exactly, SEEUS did. It was a matter of pride for him, which he knew wasn’t true for most of the students who worked for the campus security organization. He felt guilty every time he walked another staff member just to make quota, but he was in the minority for that. One of his coworkers in particular was notorious for texting his friends to come walk with him, and Marco lived in constant fear that they’d be put on shift together.  
“We do! Minimum, but it’s worth it. I really like it and it works with my-”  
“Whoa whoa whoa, hold up. I didn’t ask for your life story or anything,” the student said sharply, glancing up for a second, “Could you tell your friend over there to get out of my drawing? He’s ruining the composition.”  
“Excuse me?” Eren shouted, whipping around to glare at him. He began to walk over but at a pleading glance from Marco he stopped and huffed, then planted himself on the bench he’d been kicking, flipping the drawing student the bird and crossing his arms over his chest. Marco looked down in time to place a hand on the young man’s shoulder to stop him from tossing aside his sketchbook and standing up.  
“I-I’m so sorry about him,” Marco stammered, jerking his hand away from his shoulder and feeling the tips of his chilled ears burn with embarrassment. “He’s usually not like th- No, okay he’s usually like this. I’m sorry.” For another heartbeat or two he was afraid he was about to have to use his direct line to the police to break up a fight but then the student sitting under the entrance arch relaxed and gave a tight smile.  
“‘Sokay. I think I’ll have to call it a night on this drawing soon anyhow.” As far as Marco could tell the drawing was finished, but then again his idea of completing a drawing was making sure the eyes and mouth were in exactly the right spot on the stick figure. A fleeting moment of panic passed through him as the other boy began packing up his things. It took him a second to figure out why, but he didn’t want to end the conversation, if it could be called that.  
“Do you uh...Want a-” The blaring of the radio, almost deafening even on Eren’s belt loop, cut him off.  
“SEEUS to five oh four.”  
“Go ahead.”  
“Ten twenty five that ten fifteen.”  
Eren looked about ready to kill someone as he very quietly replied, “Ten four.”, stood up, and walked stiffly over to the bench under the arch. “What did I tell you?” He asked Marco, much louder. Genuinely frightened, Marco held up his numb hands defensively and started to stammer a response when the student he’d been speaking to rose, hitching his messenger bag over his shoulder and letting out a sigh.  
“Don’t get your panties in a twist, man.” He cocked an eyebrow, shifting his weight between his feet and breathing out a puff of air that quickly condensed and swirled away as white mist. “What happened, anyway?” Marco could tell he was trying hard to keep his unconcerned façade up, but he could hear genuine curiosity in his voice.  
“Oh uh...That means the person we were supposed to come pick up here called the station to cancel the escort. It...Doesn’t happen all that often and we’re a...Well, we’re a little worried about making quota tonight.” He let out a nervous laugh, then glanced at Eren. Eren was standing with his arms crossed, staring down at his boots.  
“That’s your job? Walking people across campus? Lame.” He stepped around Marco and into the light, starting to walk off as he opened his bag and pulled out a large pair of knit mittens and a striped hat. Marco felt a flash of anger tighten his chest but he took a deep breath and responded, not looking at him.  
“It’s not lame. It’s not. We just want...I just want people to feel safe on campus. This is the closest thing to home some of the students have.” He knew he was probably blushing hard enough from shame that his freckles weren’t visible but he kept his voice from shaking, and he was proud of that. He heard the quiet sound of the retreating student’s shoes pause against the sidewalk, and he glanced up curiously. The student was looking back at him with a frown. Now that he was in the light, Marco could tell he had hazel eyes and a blond and brunette undercut, which he quickly covered with the hat he’d taken out of his bag. He may have seen him around campus at some point, which wasn’t surprising considering how small of a university it was. A moment later he shrugged, turning fully back to face the two SEEUS employees.  
“Fine. You do seem sorta desperate so you can walk me. If you promise not to bite my head off, that is.” This said very pointedly to Eren, who sneered and mouthed back a reply before unclipping his radio and contacting the station. If Marco didn’t know better, he’d think the two of them knew one another. Half running a few steps, the two of them fell into step beside the student as he started heading back the way they’d come.  
“Where are we headed?” Marco asked, slipping into his customer service voice.  
“The Towers. Hoyt, I guess, if you need to know that.”  
“We do, and do you know your number?” The student glanced at him sideways, frown deepening.  
“What the hell? I just met you and you want my number? I can see why you-”  
“Wait! Sorry sorry, I mean your student number. The one on the bottom of your card. He’ll need it in just a second.” Marco gestured wildly at Eren, who was staring back, ready to go with the information.  
“Oh. Shit oh I’m...Sorry I-” In a moment the standoffish young man fell apart, stammering and, if his eyes didn’t deceive him in the crappy lighting, Marco would have sworn he saw a hint of pink on his cheeks. Chuckling to himself, he prompted the student to go ahead with his number. Eren relayed it into the radio.  
“And student’s name is…?”  
“Jean Kirstein.” He said without hesitation, still clearly shaken.  
“Jean Kirstein. And there is one in the party.” Eren dictated into the radio, dropping the call and speeding up so he was walking a few steps ahead of the other two. Jean sneered at the back of his head, then hunched his shoulders forward against the cold, turning his head to look at Marco.  
“Don’t you guys get cold? You’re always wearing those dumb tshirts.” Marco bristled a little at the (completely unnecessary) comment but smiled, shrugging.  
“I’m wearing about a million layers underneath it so I’m not too bad. My ears are freezing, though. Forgot my hat. And my uh...Mittens.” He ran a hand through his dark hair, giving a self deprecating laugh. He fell silent next to Jean for a second, then took a deep breath and launched into the series of questions he usually asked people as he walked them. “Any fun plans for the rest of the weekend?” Thinking back to the confusion with the student number, he worried briefly that the student would think he was flirting. He wasn’t. Jean pursed his lips in response, cocking an eyebrow.  
“Huh? No, not really. Homework, I guess. Drawing, if I’ve got the time.” Marco looked down at his messenger bag. Guessing his major was easy.  
“So then, you’re an art maj-”  
“Accounting.” Jean replied brusquely. They were making their way into the darkened part of campus, past Goddard and Jones. If he hadn’t been distracted by the brief retort he would have had time to worry about the half open curtains on the abandoned dorms, as he always did. They really were spooky.  
“What? Not...But...You can draw so well!” Jean gave a derisive smile, snorting.  
“Tell that to my parents.” He let out a sigh, looking up through the thinning canopy at the stars. “‘Artists don’t make money, go get a real job or find a way to live on your own.’” He continued in a highly affected voice Marco took to be an impression of his mother. Marco watched him out of his peripheral, intentionally slowing his steps so Eren pulled ahead of them. Jean stayed in step with him, looking back down. After a few seconds of what Marco would classify as awkward silence, Jean chuckled and nudged Marco with his elbow. “Don’t look so sad. It’s not a big deal. I just have to...Well, I mean, I’m already the best in all of my classes, of course.” The snobbish tone Jean’s voice took on made Marco wonder if he had many friends. Maybe that’s why he’d been so prickly talking to him earlier. They took the stairs down past Pray Harrold and continued past Quirk and Downing. “If I can just show them that I can do accounting and art then...Then maybe…” He grinned, determination etched on his face and Marco felt a little shiver run through him. Ambition always made him respect people. That’s what he chose to chalk it up to, at the very least. “I’ll just get a job working in...I dunno, graphic design or something. And when I make enough I’ll switch my major and kiss those suckers goodbye!” Jean’s voice had gotten increasingly louder as he got excited talking about his plans, and Marco saw a curtain in a window of Buell crack open for a moment. Smiling nervously, he nodded quickly and waved at Eren when the other SEEUS employee glanced over his shoulder.  
“It’s a good plan,” Marco said, not sure what else to say. The conversations he had with perfect strangers while they walked across campus ranged from halting, monosyllabic responses to people gushing about their significant other or, in this case, their future plans. As overwhelming as they could be, he far preferred the latter. It offered a lot more opportunity for him to offer input, and he’d made some of his best friends through walking them across campus. It wasn’t something he’d expected from a simple campus security job when he’d first moved to campus, but it was a pleasant surprise the first time he hit it off with someone on the job. After a few seconds, a small smile found its way to his lips and he let out a light chuckle, looking at Jean. “Wouldn’t it be funny if a drawing of yours was the cover art of a magazine your parents read and they open it to find an article about an Eastern Michigan University student majoring in art who’s on the fast track to the professional world and that’s how they find out?” He’d expected at least a smile in return, forced or otherwise, but all Jean did was cock an eyebrow.  
“Um...I guess?” Marco’s heart sank and he hung his head as they started walking up the Univeristy Park Stairs. A classic open mouth, insert foot moment. Sometimes he said the stupidest things when talking to people.  
“Listen, I’m sorry I-” He was cut off by a sharp laugh from Jean and he whipped his head up to look at the other student in surprise.  
“Actually that...That would be hilarious. Because they really only read like...Strategic Finance? So like...They’d find out in the context of the fact that I gave up a track of accounting for art in a magazine about accounting. Talk about sticking it to the man.” Elated, Marco nodded quickly, jogging the last couple of stairs to the top and turning around to look at Jean, letting out a breath and watching as it condensed and floated off.  
“Can you imagine that phone call?” Jean shuddered, grinning at Marco as he joined him at the top of the stairs, breathing a little heavily.  
“I don’t even want to, man.” The blonde jerked his thumb over his shoulder down the stairs, “How many times do you climb those every night?”  
“Those? Um...Maybe ten, fifteen times a night? Depending on how many walks we have. Oh, sorry did I...Did I go too fast? We’re supposed to uh...Keep pace with whoever we’re walking.” Marco cast a critical glance at the back of Eren’s head as he took the turn around Big Bob’s Lakehouse and out of sight. Sure, he’d wanted him a little out of earshot but that was excessive. SEEUS handbook rules said hand holding distance between yourself and your partner during shift. He looked at Jean, who certainly was within handholding distance.  
The pink in his cheeks was from the cold, of course.  
“I think I would probably die from all the walking. You must have great calves.” Jean said nonchalantly, stretching and continuing to walk toward Hoyt. With a sinking feeling, Marco realized they were over halfway back. He wasn’t ready to part ways with Jean. Then the boy’s words hit him.  
The pink in his cheeks was from the cold, really. Amazing how it almost completely obscured his freckles.  
“I-I guess. I’m not all that athletic, though. A-and I just work three nights a week. So Um...I mean I don’t think that would be enough…”  
“Which nights?” Jean asked, raising his eyebrows.  
“Thursday, eight to one, and Friday, and Saturday from nine to one.” Marco said with a practiced tone. He was asked that question often. And the next question would be…  
“You’re out here until one?” Jean asked with surprise, looking at his watch, “It’s not even midnight. And you’ve been out here since...Oh heck what day is it? Friday. You’ve been out since nine. And it’s freezing and you don’t have a hat or mittens.” Jean let out a low whistle as they strolled past the basketball courts and started down the smaller path toward the Towers. “Very impressive.” After several moments of companionable silence of walking through the sparse trees, Jean said, “So if I need someone to walk me across the dark, scary campus at night on the weekend, it’ll be you?” Marco looked at him but looked away just as quickly when he saw the cheeky grin and felt his stomach flip.  
“You m-might-” He coughed to clear his throat, “You might get me, you may not. There are usually two or three groups out at a time. So um..I-if you call for a walk it’s hit or miss but if you...Come and find me. Us! If you come find my group, we’ll walk you.” He realized he was ranting and took a deep breath, looking back and forth before crossing the small driveway and past the first of the Tower dorms, Pittman. “The chances aren’t bad, though.” He said in conclusion.  
“Good to know.” Jean said. Marco could hear the smile in his voice and felt his ears burn. It didn’t do anything to compensate for his lacking a hat. This time, the silence wasn’t as comfortable. A side glance at Jean showed a faint smile. So he was the only one feeling off.  
As they passed under the pavilion in the courtyard Jean pointed up at one of the upper floors of Hoyt. “Looks like my roommate’s still awake. Fun times.” Marco laughed a little, curious of what he meant by that, but not wanting to ask and open a can of worms right before the end of the walk.  
“Good luck with that.” He said neutrally, giving a lukewarm smile. The last few steps of the walk were silent, and when they came around the corner Eren was leaning against the wall of Hoyt’s entrance, bathed in the orange light. He raised his eyebrows as if to say ‘what took you so long’.  
“S-so um... Have a nice night and stay warm and thanks for-” He stopped suddenly as Jean did something incredibly unexpected; he pulled off his hat and pulled it down over Marco’s ears. Marco heard a quiet wolf whistle and tugged up the edge of the hat to see Eren side step around the building and out of sight, smirking. He turned his gaze to look at Jean, whose cheeks were bright red even in the orange glow of the lights as he pulled off his mittens and held them out, smiling.  
“Y-you need them more than I do.” Marco wordlessly took them and slipped them on, smiling happily as his fingers were suddenly not freezing. Jean had been wearing them since Sherzer, so of course they were warm. He looked up suddenly.  
“You’re sure?”  
“Of course. Good luck with the rest of your shift.” Jean smiled and gave a small wave and turned toward the door.  
“Wait!” Before Marco could stop himself he’d taken a step toward the other student, grabbing the strap of his messenger bag. With his other hand he was digging around in his pocket, fumbling now that he didn’t have full use of his fingers. “Could I see one of your pencils for a moment?” He asked quietly. Dumbstruck and clearly confused, Jean nodded and pulled out a pencil from the outer pocket. Marco took it and quickly scrawled his phone number on the back of the evaluation card he’d finally managed to extricate from his pocket. “This is um...If you go to the link you can take a quick survey to rate our service. And um...I-If you do you can get free walks.” He smiled, handing over the bright pink card, face up.  
“Wait but...Aren’t the walks already free?”  
“Yeah. That’s our way of being cute about it.” Marco said with a smile and a laugh. “Like a rewards program.”  
“Huh. Okay.” Jean smiled and took his pencil back, turning back to the door and flipping the card over. “What did you…”  
“So I can give you back the hat and mittens! Or if you need a walk and want me. To walk you, I mean.” Marco said cheerfully. “Have a nice night!” With that he took two quick steps to clear the entrance way and almost crashed into Eren, who was smirking insufferably as he stepped out of the shadows, holding the radio up to his mouth.  
“You played that off real smooth, champ.” He said. For once, Marco didn’t mind the teasing tone of voice.  
“Just doing my job.” Marco said back with as much confidence as he could muster. The two students looked at each other for a couple seconds before laughing and heading back across the courtyard.  
“We’re still not going to make quota, though.” Eren commented after he’d called in the completed walk.  
“Yeah well…” Marco glanced behind him at the window Jean had indicated before. For some reason the light was flashing on and off.  
“I can live with that for one night.”  
“You didn’t tell him your name.”  
“...Shit, you’re right.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
As Marco walked to work the next day, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and pulled it out, surprised to see a message from an unknown number. Smiling, he read the short message.  
_hey, mittens. i’ll be done @ sherzer around 11:30 2night, if u really need a walk._  
He was about to text back when a second message came.  
_sorry, that sounds really rude. i dont text people a lot._ Marco wasn’t surprised, but it was the third text that made his face flush dark red.  
_maybe u can give me back my stuff 2morrow night, 7 at tower inn cafe?_  
Marco typed his short, affirmative reply before putting his phone back and just about floating the rest of the way to the SEEUS office.


End file.
